Wednesday, August 13, 2014

New Low For Tulo; Colorado Rockies season keeps getting worse

Maybe it's time to turn the page on the Tulowitzki era.

The sad reality is that it is extremely tough to be a fan of the Colorado Rockies.

If the disrespect of an owner, if the excuses of a front office, if the abysmal play on the field, if the lack of depth to fill in isn't all enough to drive a Rockies fan insane, the inevitable truth of Troy Tulowitzki should be the straw that breaks the camels back.

On Wednesday after the Rockies lost yet again, Thomas Harding, who does a great job covering the Rockies for MLB.com, announced that Tulowitzki would not be returning to the field in 2014 after receiving a diagnosis of a torn hip labrum that will require surgery.

It's that time, Rockies fans. It's time to throw your hands in the air and give up. That doesn't mean that it is time to stop being a fan of this team. A real fan is always going to root for their team. However, it is time to stop expecting good things. It is time to accept that this team won't be a contender in one year, two years, or probably for the next half of a decade, at least.

Many fans are rooting for this team to lose 100 games in order to get some much needed change, but many other longtime fans are hoping for the team to avoid the woeful record because they are one of the few teams in Major League Baseball that has never had that dubious of a season.

It's tiring. It's really hard to watch this 2014 season. It simply won't get any better. This team continues to look worse-and-worse every single day. It is hard to watch. It has fans everywhere rooting for October to get here quickly to put another terrible season to bed.

To try and pinpoint what is wrong with the Rockies is exhausting. Almost everyone realizes that the issues start at the top of this franchise and work their way through every inch of the organization. It impacts the ownership on down to the scouts and the cross-checkers.

The only thing that could make the 2014 season worse is if, when it is all said and done, the front office points to Tulowitzki's injury as one of the reasons that this season has been a failure. If the Rockies believe that they would have been a good team with Tulowitzki in the lineup the entire season, the fan base must remind them through whatever means possible, that the season was long over, even with Tulowitzki in the fold.

Pointing out all of the issues the Rockies have is simply redundant. This is a team, this is a business, that is in serious need of leadership change. This is a franchise that needs to hit the reset button. They need to go back to the drawing board.

For some fans it may be difficult to hear, but it might be time to trade Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez. At this point, both of their values are far below what they have been in the past, but this team needs to start fresh, and ridding themselves of anything that resembles the past three seasons is a great way to start. Losing someone of Tulowitzki's ilk, and someone with the potential of Gonzalez might not be fun, but the band-aid must be pulled off.

The false hope that comes with the two superstars is enough to get Rockies fans excited enough to buy into an early winning streak, or a really good month. It is enough to make fans believe that the front office might actually be functional. The best thing for the Rockies now is simply to acknowledge that it is time to start over and find someone who can evaluate minor league talent. Look for someone who knows prospects better than anyone else and start this franchise over.

Make no mistake, Troy Tulowitzki is a once-in-a-generation player. His talent is top shelf. It is hard to imagine that anyone will play a better shortstop and hit better than he does in a Rockies uniform anytime soon. However, it is time for the Rockies to put that behind them and start building from within, and really building. The Rockies need to truly figure out who they want to be.

This might be a good time for the Rockies to re-image their brand. This might be a time for them to shed their reputation of a all-hit, no-pitch organization. After 22 years of flailing as an organization focused on mashing the ball, it might be a good time to explore a different brand of baseball at Coors Field. It might even re-invigorate a fan base that is tired of watching a completely inept bullpen continue to blow baseball games night-in and night-out.

At this point, losing Tulowitzki in the offseason would be a tough pill to swallow for Rockies fans, but starting over is probably the best option. The thing is, if Tulo is no longer in purple pinstripes, there had better be a different guy in charge of who is wearing that uniform.

7 comments:

D.Martin - "Pointing out all of the issues the Rockies have is simply redundant."

Re - There remains areas that need to be addressed. While the leadership is the primary cause, the 'Pen, away offense and rotation get highlighted, the in game management and baserunning noted, little is ever mentioned about just how bad the defense can be.

B.Kilpatrick, PurpleRow - "The one real silver lining is that the Rockies will have a pretty good idea what they have in Josh Rutledge after the season ends."

Re - Here's an example. We all know, and should have known for years that Rosario isn't an MLB-level defender. The same is true of Rutledge, but only now is the media hoard starting to mention it. How long until they see through the highlight shine on Arenado, or mention Dickerson who couldn't throw out a catcher tagging from 3B even though the sac was only to deep SS, and often looks like he's chasing butterflies around in the OF?

------------------------------------------------------------------------On August 12th, Rutledge's terrible defense allows three runs in a 4-1 Rockies loss.Bottom 2nd; BB, K, single to CF, runners on 1st and 2nd, 1out. On a routine double play ball up the middle, Rutledge fails to transfer the ball from his glove to hand. Bases loaded, 1out when it should be inning over. Next two batters ground out, but one run scores because of Rutledge.Bottom 8th; Starts with an easy grounder that Rutledge boots. If he'd stayed clear, LeMahieu could have made the play. Then a groundout, BB and K leaves runners 2nd and 3rd, 2out when it should have been inning over, runner stranded at 2B. Now Rutledge starts dancing behind the runner at 2B, trying to keep him close. Why? He's not stealing and their won't be a pickoff with a guy at 3B. Chris Nelson hits a single into LF where Rutledge should have been positioned if he wasn't Mr. dancing, fancy-pants. Because he was trying to hold a runner, that runner scored, as did his previous mistake on 3B.

3 runs allowed by Rutledge in one game. He's always been this bad, but as per the usual excuse, he was supposed to get better. He stinks. Whoever put him on the MLB roster stinks. The Rockies stink for fielding players of that caliber, of which there are many.

I am so disgusted with the 'management' of this team. Tulo's injuries really shouldn't be a surprise. He is a big guy playing a small guy's position (meaning the injury probability is higher anyway). He is playing that position exclusively (rather than being a bit of a Zobrist/Prado multiposition guy) because he has a big contract for a mid-market team and that sort of stuck-on-stubborn decision is what stupid managers do. He is on a team that has decided to stress the fielding need at that position to its max by having a rotation that is full of lefty groundball inducing starters - which means that righty batters (w a natural advantage v lefty pitchers) are gonna pull hard groundballs all the freaking time to SS and 3B - at home, on the road, every freaking day. The result being that he has to make more plays/inning than any other SS in MLB - with less of the purely defensive replacement/substitution options that the other GB-inducing rotations around the league (PIT, STL, ATL) have. Which means 200 more 'opportunities' per year for our SS to twist/torque his body into a pretzel in order to make a quick hard off-balance throw to 2B/1B. Golly. And the results are a surprise.

but hey. At least we have the Three Stooges running our front office blowing smoke up everyone's butts that the team will be a contenduh if Tulo is healthy.

The bottom line is that for 2015 the Rockies will pay both Tulo and Cargo 36 million, Anderson if re-signed another 12 and DeLaRosa if re-signed approx 14 million. Is any of this feasible with a payroll in the mid 90's?

Of course not, as you cannot have 4 players taking up 65% of the payroll. This is why I did not understand why Tulo and/or Cargo were not moved last season?

Is the FO that inept not to have taken the Cards offer last offseason or was this a Monfort decision. This is another reason a president needs to be hired to remove the owner from making bad baseball decisions.

Now that both are injured, what is their trade value...It wouldn't surprise me to see it cut in half from what it was a year ago.So instead of having a Shelby Miller and Matt Adams for Tulo, we will be lucky to see a couple of mid level prospects as long as someone assumes the payroll. Same for Cargo....This decision alone probably just pushed the Rockies back 3-5 years. Idiots!

About Me

Born and raised in Colorado, I have followed the Rockies since their inception. I am a freelance writer who covers the Colorado Rockies for the Colorado Springs Gazette, doing their Rox/Sox blog. I have also covered the team for INDenverTimes.com, a spin off of the former Rocky Mountain News. Some of the best days of my life have involved the Rockies.